Dive boat down

[cvchief]

Even IF true - what does this have to do with anything?

heck if I know. I guess the capis were saying a seam might have cracked which would explain the water midships?

 

[falcon125]

Even IF true - what does this have to do with anything?

It is most likely the reason the boat sank. So it has to do with everything. When you cut a boat in half then glue an extension in the middle you have changed the integrity of the structure. Sounds like a quick fix but is usually a bad idea. The boat manufacturer has looked at the big picture, the boat modifier only looks at the modification.

 

[cvchief]

Someone else there thought they might have blown the return line on the cooling system and pumped the boat full. Only rumor from around caleta. I've never heard anything bad about Albatross so don't take that way.

 

[Christi]

The Captain said something with the exhaust broke - apparently a hole was ripped in the boat when this happened and they started taking on water faster than they could do anything about and faster than the bilge pump could keep up with, so this they suspect to be the cause - not from a seam splitting or from any modifications made to the boat years ago - which were made to accommodate the Cat engines she tells me - however, that modification was approved and inspected by proper authorities and has nothing to do with the boat sinking in this case.

More will be revealed once the boat is brought up and assessed.

Divers and the salvage operation went all day. The boat is now secured and will be brought up early tomorrow morning. Continued prayers for the salvage team, crew and my friends at Albatross!

 

[Brules]

Would like to see a video of them raising it......would be pretty cool to see it.

As to adding to the length of a boat - it happens all the time. Ever watch deadliest catch? A lot of those boats have been added to. It is a very common thing to do as long as the work is done by professionals.

Why continue to speculate when it is being raised and they will know shortly what will happen? Oh wait, this is SB......Speculation Board LOLOLOL.

 

[cb5150]

My money is on negative buoyancy.

I bet one of the fishermen owned a pair of split fins and the boat was trying to kill them.

 

[Ron Lee]

Why continue to speculate when it is being raised and they will know shortly what will happen?

Will we find out? Did we ever get factual details on the boat that sunk while heading over to Playa del Carmen? Did we ever get real info on the Scuba Mau deep dive? Did we ever get facts on the Utah woman who disappeared on a dive?

It is possible that knowing the truth about some of these events might reveal something that really could help prevent future fatalities/accidents.

Or it may be that adherence to current practices would have prevented the problem.

I am not a boat person so the failure modes mentioned as possibilities do not help me understand why that failure (other than a hull breach) would be a problem. If it is determined that an exhaust or other item failed, then that could just reinforce what should be known that the environment may require more frequent inspection and replacement of parts before failure.

I know that I pre-emptively replace truck water pumps, hoses and belts because of my experience seeing what happens when they fail.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I remember when the boat was modified and that was a long time and many waves ago. I would be very surprised if it waited for a smooth day to break up. It is not like the Scuba Mau glass bottom boat that broke up on its first real test.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[cicopo]

I'm not a marine mechanic but as I understand it boats cycle water through them to cool the engine & the exhaust manifolds rather than by using a radiator like cars do. If the outlet side of the system failed the water would be getting pumped into the boat as it left the engine & depending on engine speed that could be a lot of water in a very short time. The original Chevy 283 water pump was rated as capable of pumping 60 gallons per minute. I don't know what the bilge pumps can handle but considering that it's unlikely anyone watches for leaks while underway it may well have been filling the boat for several minutes before anything was suspect.

 

[Brules]

I bet one of the fishermen owned a pair of split fins and the boat was trying to kill them.

If they had had a pair of split fins on board they could have bailed the water out fast enough to keep it from sinking I bet.